Health-Care Workers Vote for Union at Fountain Valley Hospital

A group of health-care professionals at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital & Medical Center now belong to a union.

By a slim six-vote margin, the United Nurses Assn. of California won the right to represent the group, composed mostly of registered nurses but also including social workers, physical therapists, medical technicians, accountants and the hospital librarian and radiology coordinator.

Although votes were cast by the hospital’s staff in May, 1987, final tabulation and certification by the National Labor Relations Board was delayed until this week. The delay developed as the NLRB worked to resolve ballot challenges and other objections to the election that were filed by both the union and hospital management, said Victoria Aguayo, director of the board’s regional office in Los Angeles.

The final certified vote count was 285 votes in favor of the union and 279 opposed, Aguayo said.

George Rooth, who has been administrator at Fountain Valley hospital for 2 months, said Wednesday that he was uncertain what step the hospital will take next. He said he was awaiting advice from the hospital’s lawyers.

Rooth was pessimistic about the effect of the union on his relationship with the hospital staff. “I think it puts a wedge in the communications between management and staff,” he said. “I don’t want to deal with a third party.”

Officers of the union could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Medical workers also are organized at three other Orange County hospitals: UCI Medical Center in Orange, Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Anaheim and AMI Medical Center of Garden Grove.